Professional portrait of Lisa Thomson Ross, a smiling woman with glasses and short brown hair in an outdoor setting.

Lisa Thomson Ross

Professor of Psychology; affiliated faculty in Women's and Gender Studies and Environmental and Sustainability Studies; faculty fellow in Leadership, Experiential Learning, Academic Achievement, and Professional Development (HSS LEAP) program

Education

Ph.D. in Social Psychology, Wayne State University

M.A. in General Experimental Psychology, Wake Forest University

B.A. in Psychology and Social Work, Hope College

Research Interests

Dr. Ross’ main research focus has been on mental health and especially how our well-being is influenced by unpredictability, both in terms of our experiences (e.g., family chaos) and our beliefs. Other research interests include humility, compassion, family dynamics, sustainability, and human sexuality.

Courses Taught

  • PSYC 223: Social Psychology
  • PSYC 315: Special Topics in Psychology I: Feminist Identity Development
  • PSYC 329: Environmental Psychology
  • PSYC 350: Psychology of Gender
  • PSYC 423: Advanced Social Psychology: Relationships and Mental Health
  • PSYC 462: Advanced Social Psychology with Lab
  • WGST 200: Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies

Selected Publications

Undergraduate student coauthors are marked with an asterisk.

Ross. L. T. & Ross, T. P. (2023). Distress, social support, and self-compassion: Relationships with mental health among college students. Psychological Reports, 1-23.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00332941231180445 
 
Ross, L.T., *Owensby, A., & Kolak, A. M. (2022). Family predictability and psychological wellness: Do personal predictability and control beliefs matter?  Journal of Child and Family Studies. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10826-022-02383-1 
 
Ross, L.T., *Heming, B., & *Lane, A. (2022).  Family unpredictability and sense of coherence: Relationships with anxiety and depression in two samples.  Psychological Reports, 126. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00332941221080409 
 
Ross, L.T., & Wright, J.C. (2021).  Humility, personality, and psychological functioning. Psychological Reports, 1-24. Online: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00332941211062819 
 
*Hood, C.O., Ross, L.T., & *Wills, N.L. (2019). Family factors and depressive symptoms among college students: Understanding the role of self-compassion.  Journal of American College Health, 68, 683-687. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07448481.2019.1596920 
 
Ross, L.T. & *Hasty, J. (2018).  Anxiety and drinking: Are personal beliefs regarding control and unpredictability relevant? Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied, 152, 1-23.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00223980.2018.1495606 
 
Kolak, A.M., *Van Wade, C. & Ross L.T.  (2018). Family unpredictability and psychological distress in early adulthood: The role of family closeness and coping mechanisms. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27, 3842–3852. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10826-018-1211-4  
 
Ross, L.T., Short, S.D., & *Garofano, M. (2016). The Scale of Unpredictability Beliefs: Reliability and validity. Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied, 150, 976-1003.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00223980.2016.1225660 
 
Ross, L.T., Hood, *C.O., & Short, S.D.  (2016). Unpredictability and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 35, 371-385. https://guilfordjournals.com/doi/abs/10.1521/jscp.2016.35.5.371?journalCode=jscp 
 
Ross, L.T., Zeigler, S., Kolak, A., & Epstein, D. (2014). Sexual hookups and alcohol consumption among African American and Caucasian college students:  A pilot study. Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied, 149, 582-600. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00223980.2014.946461